GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE AND LABOUR MARKET OUTCOMES IN GARMENT EMBELLISHMENT CHAINS

Abstract

Globalisation has led to large scale outsourcing of production activities to developing countries manifesting in global commodity chains. The perspective of global commodity chain or GCC framework and social embeddedness is used to understand the organisational and social linkages in the embellishment production network in garment industry. The findings are based on the fieldwork conducted in Bareilly situated in Uttar Pradesh, an important centre of embellishment activity in India. The mapping of the value chains in terms of the production process and through the network of agents helped to identify two types of governance structures: control over work processes and control through social institutions. The paper find subtle differences between export and domestic chains in terms of the governance structures or controls used. It also sheds some light on the implications of entry into and exit from the international chain for workers including home based workers. Working in export market is risky and uncertain due to strict controls through lead time and quality parameters. The earnings from export products are not adequate enough to compensate for the risks and uncertainties associated with it. The paper also does not find evidence to show improved working conditions for those workers engaged in the global network. The social embeddedness of the network ensures that agents choosing to opt out of the international chain are able to insert themselves in the domestic chain more or less on equal terms.

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